Why Do People Want to be RICH?

Ah, to live the good life like Jay Gatsby. He is an example of someone who got rich quick, no matter what it took, because he wanted the finer things in life. There is nothing wrong with the good things in life. What is wrong is how you go about it. In the movie, Jay met a crushing downfall. Don't let that happen to you.

Many people think of entrepreneurship as a fast way to get rich. After all, we all know the story of Bill Gates (Microsoft), Larry Page and Sergey Bin (Google), and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook). But the question is: why do people want to be rich? One of the all-time entrepreneurs, and probably the richest guy in history if he didn’t give it all of his money away, John D. Rockefeller, has an interesting take. He was vilified in his day as being the essence of greed and ruthless in terms of the way he conducted business. He said: “don’t do it for the sake of accumulating wealth. You’ll never achieve it because what you have will never be enough.” These are surprising words from a guy whose name is synonymous with being rich.

The obvious reason is to live the life of luxury. Who doesn’t like taking vacation at five star resorts and having servants cater to your every whim? We all want the best of everything, don’t we? Why drive in a compact when you can ride in a BMW? Who wants to sail in a hobie-cat when you can sail in comfort on a yacht? Having the ability to get the best of everything means you have arrived. The 10,000 square foot mansion is the ultimate status symbol. All of us like the thought of being desired by someone else, especially the opposite sex.

Another is independence. Financial independence means we can do what we want when we want to do it. No one tells us what to do with our time. It means not having to stay in a job we don’t like. We choose our own “work” based on what we want to do, not have to do. Hating getting out of bed to go to a job we despise because of money is a terrible way to live. This independence allows us to do many things. Perhaps we want to volunteer and help the less fortunate. Or, we want to leave our money to a charity, or start one of our own like a charter school. Maybe we want to help our parents retire early, or leave some money to our kids after we pass on. Some of us may like the idea of creating wealth for others. It is estimated the Bill Gates, through Microsoft, has created over 10,000 millionaires. One of them is Paul Allen. He is also a billionaire. Who knows how many millionaires he has created? Finally, we may think it will buy us happiness.

Wealth and income is not the same thing. Income is what you earn. Wealth is the income that you keep. If you make a $1 million dollars and spend every penny, guess what; you’re broke. You have less wealth than someone who makes $35,000 a year and has $5,000 in savings. In fact, you have no wealth at all.

What is the best way to get rich? OWNERSHIP: whether it’s owning property or owning a business. If you have a business, or are considering a business, visit my website at www.partnerdavethewriter.com and let me help you build your business through the written word. If you are looking for ideas for a business, leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.